Patents by Inventor Youhei Kawahara

Youhei Kawahara has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7514905
    Abstract: A battery management system which can output a battery state enabling optimum charge and discharge control to be performed even when a temperature variation occurs among individual single cells. A plurality of temperature sensors measure temperature values of a battery. A measurement unit measures a voltage and a current of the battery. A maximum/minimum temperature selection unit in a calculation unit determines a maximum temperature and a minimum temperature from the temperature values measured by the temperature sensors. An available power calculation unit calculates respective values of maximum available charge and discharge powers or maximum available charge and discharge currents of the battery corresponding to the maximum temperature and the minimum temperature based on the voltage and the current of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori, Shuko Yamauchi, Hirotaka Takahashi, Masami Shida, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Publication number: 20090087722
    Abstract: A vehicle power supply system comprises a battery module that includes a plurality of battery cells, battery cell control devices and a signal transmission path through which signals are transmitted. The battery cell control device comprises a voltage measurement circuit that measures terminal voltages at the battery cells, an abnormality diagnosis circuit that diagnoses an abnormality in the battery cell control device, a timing control circuit that outputs a signal for instructing measurement phase and a signal for instructing diagnosis phase, and a communication circuit that outputs a signal indicating the terminal voltage and a signal based upon a diagnosis result by the abnormality diagnosis circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2008
    Publication date: April 2, 2009
    Applicants: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kei Sakabe, Akihiko Emori, Akihiko Kudo, Kenji Kubo, Youhei Kawahara, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Tatsumi Yamauchi
  • Publication number: 20090085516
    Abstract: An automotive power supply system comprises a battery module that includes serially connected battery groups each constituted with serially connected battery cells, integrated circuits each disposed in correspondence to one of the battery groups, a control circuit, a transmission path through which the integrated circuits are connected to the control circuit and a relay circuit via which an electrical current is supplied from the battery module. In response to a start signal instructing an operation start and received via the transmission path, each integrated circuit measures terminal voltages at the individual battery cells in the corresponding battery group and executes an abnormality diagnosis. If abnormality diagnosis results provided by the integrated circuits indicate no abnormality, the control circuit closes the relay, enabling supply of electrical current from the battery module and subsequently, the control circuit receives measurement results from the integrated circuits via the transmission path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2008
    Publication date: April 2, 2009
    Applicants: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiko EMORI, Youhei Kawahara, Kei Sakabe, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Tatsumi Yamauchi, Akihiko Kudo
  • Publication number: 20080219337
    Abstract: The present invention provides enhanced serial communication reliability in a situation where a plurality of cell controllers and a battery controller are daisy-chained to form a serial communication configuration. While the plurality of cell controllers and the battery controller are daisy-chained to form a serial communication configuration, the battery controller or each cell controller includes a communication speed detection means, which detects the communication speed of data input from an additional controller, and a reception timing correction means, which corrects the reception timing for data input from the additional controller in accordance with the communication speed detected by the communication speed detection means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2008
    Publication date: September 11, 2008
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Kawata, Akihiko Emori, Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Kudo
  • Publication number: 20080156551
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a storage battery managing apparatus that can ensure charge-discharge control of a storage battery in consideration of state variation of each unit cell even if the battery pack includes a number of component unit cells, and a vehicle controlling apparatus providing the same. A storage battery 110 includes a plurality of chargeable-dischargeable unit cells connected. Battery management ICs 122 detect the cell voltage of each unit cell. A voltage sensor 150 detects a storage battery voltage. A current sensor 140 detects currents to be charged and discharged in the storage battery. Processing means 132 obtains a degree of SOC imbalance by use of the cell voltage of each unit cell detected by the battery management ICs 122 when the storage battery is being neither charged nor discharged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2007
    Publication date: July 3, 2008
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori, Shuko Yamauchi, Hirotaka Takahashi, Masami Shida, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Publication number: 20080076011
    Abstract: There is provided a highly reliable storage battery apparatus which can diagnose the status of a temperature detection unit and a cooling unit. In the storage battery apparatus comprising a battery module including one or more batteries, a plurality of temperature detection units and a cooling unit cooling the battery module, the temperature detection units measure, at least, the temperature of the cooling medium inputted to the storage battery apparatus, the temperature of the cooling medium outputted from the storage battery apparatus, and the temperature of at least one of the batteries and the battery module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Inventors: Akihiko Emori, Youhei Kawahara, Takahiro Kawata, Akihiko Kudo
  • Publication number: 20080030198
    Abstract: A communication means (105) of a battery monitoring device (101) receives setting information (measuring parameters) about the type or structure of a storage battery (102) to be monitored from a host system (106). A setting means (107) acquires the measuring parameters and performs setting for a measuring means (103) and a digital signal conversion means (104). In other words, the setting means (107) sets, in accordance with the type or structure of the storage battery (102), the measuring parameters (namely, the measuring time interval, the measuring channel number, the measurement range and the like) for the measuring means (103) and the digital signal conversion means (104). Thus, even when the type and construction of the storage battery (102) changes, state of charge and the like of the storage battery (102) can be accurately measured and monitored by the battery monitoring device (101).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2007
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Inventors: Takahiro KAWATA, Akihiko Emori, Youhei Kawahara, Hiroshi Arita
  • Publication number: 20070247106
    Abstract: When detecting an abnormality in some storage batteries, the hybrid vehicle control system separates the faulty storage batteries and leads the sound storage batteries to a high SOC.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2007
    Publication date: October 25, 2007
    Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori, Manabu Jyou, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Publication number: 20070145954
    Abstract: A battery management system which can output a battery state enabling optimum charge and discharge control to be performed even when a temperature variation occurs among individual single cells. A plurality of temperature sensors measure temperature values of a battery. A measurement unit measures a voltage and a current of the battery. A maximum/minimum temperature selection unit in a calculation unit determines a maximum temperature and a minimum temperature from the temperature values measured by the temperature sensors. An available power calculation unit calculates respective values of maximum available charge and discharge powers or maximum available charge and discharge currents of the battery corresponding to the maximum temperature and the minimum temperature based on the voltage and the current of the battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori, Shuko Yamauchi, Hirotaka Takahashi, Masami Shida, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Publication number: 20070108946
    Abstract: A secondary battery module includes a battery information storage unit for storing electric characteristic information and usage history information of the secondary battery module. A battery information management device and a terminal device respectively include interfaces to be connected to the secondary battery module. The battery information management device is provided with a battery information database. The battery information management device is connected to the terminal device through a communications network. In this way, battery information stored in the battery information storage unit, which is acquired by the battery information management device and the terminal device, is accumulated in the battery information database. Moreover, the battery information management device grades the secondary battery module for reuse based on the battery information and a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2006
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventors: Shuko Yamauchi, Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20060208693
    Abstract: The aim of the invention is to provide a battery controller which is able to secure the number of rewrite time as required without replacement. The battery controller including a plurality of memory groups 104a to 104n comprising nonvolatile memories rewritable on the basis of one unit or plural units, a switch for selecting a memory group and a reader/writer 102 for writing or reading data into or from the memory groups, wherein the switch selects sequentially a memory group, according to a signal for writing from outside.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2006
    Publication date: September 21, 2006
    Inventors: Akihiko Emori, Youhei Kawahara, Hirotaka Takahashi, Fumio Murabayashi, Tokiyoshi Hirasawa, Tetsuro Okoshi
  • Publication number: 20060202857
    Abstract: A status detector for a power supply, a power supply, and an initial characteristic extracting device for use with the power supply, each of which can detect the status of an electricity accumulating unit with high accuracy by sequentially modifying characteristic information necessary for the status detection of the electricity accumulating unit. A measuring unit obtains measured values of at least current, voltage and temperature of the electricity accumulating unit. A processing unit executes status detection of the electricity accumulating unit by using the measured values and the characteristic information of the electricity accumulating unit which is stored in a memory unit. A discrepancy detecting unit detects the presence of a discrepancy away from a theoretical value when a result of the status detection obtained by the processing unit is changed over a predetermined threshold or reversed with respect to the measured values obtained by the measuring unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2006
    Publication date: September 14, 2006
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Emori, Shuko Yamauchi, Hirotaka Takahashi, Masami Shida, Akihiko Kudo